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Nutrient Returns from Field-Drying of Logging Residue¹

ABSTRACT

Increasing interest in utilizing logging residue for fuel has caused concern over additional nutrient removals from the site. On-site drying of the residue may have an ameliorative effect due to nutrient returns during the drying process. To determine nutrient returns from field-dried logging residue, four red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and chestnut oak (Quercus prinus L.) trees were felled and skidded into a 2-ha clearcut area. Twig and leaf samples were collected immediately after cutting and after 2, 4, 8, and 16 weeks of field-drying. Declines in both P and K concentrations in the leaves and twigs were noted over the drying period. When nutrient returns were computed on a kg ha^–1 basis the following returns were observed after 16 weeks of drying: N, P, K, Ca, and Mg were 37, 2, 34, 20, and 2 kg ha^–1, respectively. These amounts are similar to those cycled annually in litter-fall in Appalachian mixed oak stands, which indicates that from a nutrient conservation standpoint, summer logging followed by field-drying may be comparable to winter (leaf-off) logging in these stands.

Key Words: logging residue • whole-tree harvesting • biomass • nutrient cycling • fuelwood

¹ Contribution from the Dep. of Forestry, School of Forestry & Wildlife Resources, Virginia Polytechnic Inst. & State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24061. Financial support from U.S. Dep. of Energy Grant DT-78-6-01-3069 and McIntire-Stennis funds.

² Associate professor of Forestry, College of Natural Resources, Univ. of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, WI 54481.

³ Associate professor of Silviculture & Forest Soils and assistant professor of Industrial Forestry Operations, respectively, Dep. of Forestry, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, VA 24061.

Received for publication February 14, 1983.